Copy.ai is one of the most popular AI writers, with over 10 million teams and professionals, including major brands like Zoom and HubSpot, as they claim, having given the tool a try.
Those credentials may make it seem as though Copy.ai is the natural choice for somebody looking to explore AI content creation. But is that the case? In this review, we will dive deep into its feature set and unveil what Copy.ai has to offer and whether that offering is everything it claims to be.
TL;DR
Copy.ai comes with a powerful Chat feature, integrated with Internet access, an impressive 90+ preset prompts, and a convenient Brand Voice feature. It offers other good ideas such as "Workflow". However, there are some issues and limitations in this tool, making it fail to be as consistently effective as it could be.
Pros
- Free plan is available.
- Online research ability is incorporated into its chat tool.
- Extensive service prompts that service many copy creation needs.
Cons
- Pricing gets very steep, especially once you get to the "Growth" and "Scale" tiers.
- Brand Voice does not work properly all the time.
- The Workflow feature occasionally introduces unneeded steps.
What is Copy.ai?
For those familiar with generative AI tools, Copy.ai's offering isn't anything new. It combines a chatbot – capable of generating many types of content – with tools and templates you can use to tweak its output to your liking. Add to that its "Workflow" features, which are designed to help you automate manual processes inside your business.
Copy.ai has been growing fast since its 2020 founding in Memphis, Tennessee. Its Series A funding – taking place in October 2021 – was its most successful as it saw the company receive $11 million from investment firms like Sequoia and Wing Ventures. That money appears to be getting paid back, too, as Copy.ai receives about $2.4 million per year from its paying customers.
Pricing of Copy.ai
Copy.ai has a slightly more complicated pricing setup than similar generative AI tools because it offers five tiers:
Copy.ai's pricing covers a wide range. It has a Free plan, so you can take your time to test this platform for free. And the paid plans charge from $49 to $4000 monthly, with features and usage catered to both individuals and businesses of all kinds.
But as its price starts at $49 per month, this may seem a big investment for many individual users, especially those who are just starting out or only require the tool for occasional use. The jump from a $49/mo Pro plan to a $249/mo Pro plan is also quite significant, and might deter some users or groups who are not yet ready to commit to such an expense.
The Key Features of Copy.ai Honestly Reviewed
To get a true taste of what Copy.ai has to offer, we've signed up for one of its paid plans so we have the leeway to really get to grips with the tool.
And after hours spent researching and tinkering with what it has to offer, these are our opinions on its major features.
Chat by Copy.ai
Copy.ai has now been designed as a chat-based AI writing platform. Once you log on to the dashboard, you'll be immediately greeted by the Chat feature. And integrated with tools like brand voice and preset prompts, most of your writing tasks can be done through this chatbot.
Preset Prompts
One thing we like about this Chat feature is it offers over 90 preset prompts for you to choose from. This is helpful especially if you don't know how to get started with this chatbot, or you need to perform specific writing tasks but don't know what prompt you should input. And it even allows you to build a custom prompt
Real-Time Research
Copy.ai's Chat is also able to conduct real-time research. If you ask the tool a basic question, it will automatically search the Internet for answers, and generate an answer with links to the sources, allowing you to fact-check its output.
To test its reliability, we input this question about Tesla's stock performance:
The answer looks convincing at first glance: detailed answer with an authentic source attached. Everything looks perfect except that the most important stock price, $207.74, is incorrect. At the time we were fact checking the answer using the Yahoo link it provided, Tesla's stock price was at about $233.
We ran another test and this time we chose to ask who was the winner of the Super Bowl in 2023. The chat responded with the correct answer:
A chatbot that can do research on their own can also be used to create an updated, well-researched article. To see how Copy.ai works on this, we asked it to write a 500-word review of the M3 MacBook Pro. (As this laptop was released in Nov. 2023, no language models can write trustworthy content about it with their own training data only.)
For the first time we ran this test, we didn't offer any link. And unfortunately, this failed to invoke its online research feature, and produce a product review with only general information and no reliable details:
So we added the link to the M3 Macbook Pro and ran the prompt again. This time, it was capable of generating something with more accurate details:
So while we think it's good that the Chat feature of Copy.ai can back its answers with resources on the Internet, it'd be better for Copy.ai to improve how its chatbot starts its online research ability and how it scraps information from their content to consistently provide reliable answers.
Brand Voice
Beyond basic chatting, Copy.ai also allows you to set and chat with a custom "Brand Voice". Similar to the one of Jasper, Copy.ai's Brand Voice allows you to tell Copy.ai what your brand should sound like by submitting your own content, leading to its output matching the tone as best as it can.
We used the following text to create a conversational, enthusiastic brand voice.
"Hey there, fitness enthusiast! Check out our super comfy, extra-grippy yoga mat! Perfect for your sun salutations or warrior poses. It's all about comfort, support, and a dash of style. Transform your yoga sessions into a sublime experience. Get ready to namaste in style!"
And then we asked this chatbot to write 50 words to introduce a new painkiller.
Although the result looked a bit funny, it showed that the voice we set actually took effect, influencing the response the chatbot provided.
But in the same chat with the same voice setting, we prompted it to write another 50 words about Apple's latest iPhone 15 Pro, with a link to its official webpage provided.
It scanned the content of the link and generated a paragraph accurately summarizing the key features of the smartphone. But the paragraph seemed to be written in a normal neutral AI tone, and the lively voice we set didn't work here.
All told, the Chat of Copy.ai is a solid chat assistant, without ever being truly spectacular. The ability to pull information from the Internet for its output is excellent, though it may not work properly all the time. And the various tools like the Brand Voice for tweaking the output aren't as well implemented as they could be.
Workflows
Another feature that makes Copy.ai unique is its Workflow builder.
The idea is simple. You identify a process that you'd like to automate and enter it into a text box. Copy.ai then builds a workflow around your prompt, creating a flowchart that details the steps in its generated workflow.
For instance, we asked Copy.ai to create a workflow for taking a positive customer review and turning it into a short sales email that uses the review to highlight what makes the product so great.
Here's what the resulting workflow looked like:
It seems fairly simple, showing us that Copy.ai simply needs the review as input before it generates an article, which it presumably turns into a sales email. From here, we entered a review for the PlayStation 5 console – pulled from Amazon – to see what the output would be:
The output was okay, though we were surprised to see that the tool didn't take any direct quotes from the review, instead choosing to paraphrase everything written within. Given that the intention was to use social proof to sell, it would have been nice to see a direct quote that could be attributed to the reviewer.
It was a touch on the slow side, too, as we found ourselves waiting for over 30 seconds for the copy. We're also still not sure why the workflow decided to generate an article as well as an email – we didn't ask for that.
These small bugbears suggest that Copy.ai's workflow builder is a nice idea in theory, but one that struggles to live up to its billing in practice. It's not awful, by any means, and could be a useful tool for people who want to map out the steps of their current workflows to see which are redundant. But many users will likely play around with the tool before finding it's just quicker to use one of the Chat's prompts to get the same results.
Overall Impression
Copy.ai can be counted on for a variety of tasks. Its Chat feature, with its extensive prompts, brand voice and real-time research ability, is a helpful writing solution for many individuals and businesses. And the Workflow can definitely offer some automated content creation help.
However, the overall effectiveness of these features is hindered by some small issues and inconsistencies. They don't always work properly, and sometimes you need to tweak the outputs to match your needs.
HIX.AI – The Superior Alternative to Copy.ai
If you've tried Copy.ai and found yourself feeling unsatisfied with its offering, there is an alternative that delivers more – HIX.AI.
What Is HIX.AI?
HIX.AI is an all-in-one AI writing copilot that offers a wide range of powerful AI products designed to assist with various writing and content creation tasks. With HIX.AI, you can create high-quality content in seconds, boost your productivity, and enhance your writing workflow.
Why HIX.AI Is a Better Alternative to Copy.ai
There are several reasons why HIX.AI is a strong alternative to Copy.ai.
More Tools and Languages
HIX.AI offers over 120 AI writing tools, providing a wider range of capabilities compared to Copy.ai's 90+ preset prompts. With HIX.AI, you have access to a comprehensive set of tools that can assist you with every aspect of writing and content creation.
HIX.AI Has a Dedicated, Reliable Article Writer
While you can use Copy.ai's Chat feature to create articles, it may take a lot of time for you to figure out what prompt you should use to create an ideal article. But at HIX.AI, we offer an expertly-designed long article writer, ArticleGPT.
ArticleGPT offers a straightforward article creation workflow. First, enter your topic, target keywords, audience and tone. Then specify the reference sources. After that, choose and edit your title and outline. And finally you'll get an article created following all these requirements.
The article content is factually accurate and up to date. We draw information from the reference sources you specify to create and fact-check the content. So whether you need to write product reviews, news articles, or how-to guides, ArticleGPT can deliver hallucination-free articles you can trust.
And designed by a group of SEO experts, ArticleGPT knows how to create articles that can rank well. It is able to structure your article content and properly use your target search keywords in a way that search engines will love. This will help your website attract more traffic and drive more sales.
HIX.AI Has a Chrome Extension
If you need instant AI writing assistance when browsing the Internet, Copy.ai doesn't appear to offer a solution for you. Instead, HIX.AI has a Chrome extension – a strong enhancement for your web browsing experience.
HIX.AI's Chrome extension that works across all online platforms. Whether you're working on Google Docs, social media platforms, emails, or search engines, the HIX.AI Chrome extension is there to assist you.
With the extension, you can type // to access AI writing assistance on various platforms, get edit help with any text selected, and have a smart sidebar containing an AI chatbot, and a wide range of AI tools right within your browser.
Read also: Best Copy.ai alternative
How Copy.ai Compares to Other AI Writers
Copy.ai is a solid generative AI tool, but is it the best on the market? Check out how it compares to some of the leading AI writing tools available, with our insightful resources below:
- Top 10 Copy.ai alternatives
- Copy.ai vs Jasper
- Copy.ai vs Writesonic
- Copy.ai vs Rytr
- Copy.ai vs Notion AI
- Copy.ai vs Hypotenuse
- Copy.ai vs Anyword
Conclusion
Overall, Copy.ai offers some great concepts, but needs further refinement to ensure the implementation is as effective as it could be. Their pricing caters to various needs but may deter users due to high starting price and substantial price jumps. If you need a more powerful and affordable AI writing solution, HIX.AI is the suggested option you can try.
